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Archive for the ‘Sour Taste’ Category

If you are like me, then you’re probably thinking “Not another breath spray – isn’t rinsing and brushing enough?”

It’s a valid question…and one that I think I’ve tried to answer before, but I don’t mind doing it again.

Let me start by saying this – bad breath is the odor of the volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) that are created from the anaerobic bacteria that live in your mouth, between your teeth, beneath the surface of your tongue, in the back of your throat, and in your tonsils (if they exist).

See the picture to the left…. reaching your mouth, teeth, and front of your tongue in regions D, E, and F is simple – tens of thousands of you do it every day with our TheraBreath Oral Rinses and Toothpastes. But what about the production of odors farther back (Regions A, B, and C) – in the very back of your tongue, deep in your throat or in your tonsils?

When you gargle with an oral rinse (mouthwash) – most of time it can be very difficult to reach way down deep in your throat. Many of my patients find that a ‘Gag Reflex’ kicks in (this happens automatically in most people when something touches a sensitive area in the back of your throat and tongue). So what can you do? To stop bad breath you MUST neutralize the sulfur compounds that have been created by the anaerobic bacteria that live in deep recesses of your throat and tongue.

In response to this exact concern, I’ve created a breath spray that addresses this problem. TheraBreath PLUS Extinguisher Breath Spray has a unique 7.5cm long, swiveling, extended head which holds down the tongue and sprays the potent Therabreath PLUS formula directly on the bacterial breeding ground located in the back of your tongue and throat. It’s the only patented extra strength formula that can literally reach the part of your throat and tongue that no other formula can touch!

Many of you have told me that during your first clinical appointment, you’ve always felt something stuck in your throat – and you’ve attributed that uncomfortable feeling to your breath and taste disorder. This spray was designed to solve that problem.

Please remember that for chronic conditions, the only way to prevent the anaerobic bacteria from creating VSC’s is through daily use of an oxygenating line of products such as TheraBreath Oral Rinse and Toothgel (now at Albertsons, SavOn, Jewel, Osco, and Acme). For specific instructions on how to do this, see the Instructions of Use.

Dry mouth sufferers, whose tongue tends to become extra sticky as the day goes on

TheraBreath PLUS Extinguisher Spray is small enough to carry in your pocket, purse, or briefcase, so that you can even use it before or after your favorite garlic dish. I hope you can now see how a breath spray (especially one that actually reaches the source of bad breath) can help you regain your confidence.

If you know the cause of these unfavorable tastes, then you are one step closer to fixing the problem. The reason that taste disorders are related to bad breath is due to the sulfur produced by anaerobic bacteria, particularly on the back (dorsum) of the tongue. Although it was extremely difficult for us to find a direct relationship between sulfide molecules and this area of the tongue in American medical or dental textbooks, several Asian medical texts made reference to sour, bitter, and metallic tastes associated with the rear of the tongue. This is very logical because the bacteria that produce the sulfur compounds breed on the back of the tongue, which is the area that is susceptible to sour, bitter, and metallic tastes.

Neurologically, the sense of smell and the sense of taste have two distinct physical centers in the brain, where specific electrical impulses are received. However, they happen to be next door neighbors. Physical evidence shows that the receptors for the impulses are separate senses that often intermingle with each other. This causes some to detect a sense of odor, even though there is none, based on a stimulation in the taste center and vice versa.

Pharmaceutical companies realized early on that it could be very easy to fool the public by creating strong flavors in oral rinses, which would then be sensed by the brain as if the user’s breath was fresh.

One must understand that just as seeing and hearing are two different senses, and so are smelling and taste. You can have a great mint taste in your mouth (after using Altoids, for example), but the odor being sensed by the person next to you at work can be a disagreeable sulfur odor. This is true because the sugar in those products stimulate the bacteria to produce more sulfur compounds.

Some oral rinses are flavored to taste like medicine with the distinct purpose of creating the sense to the user that product with that flavor is actually doing something.

pH and Tastes:

Bitter, metallic, and sour tastes are all acidic in nature. Our medicated products are the only ones of their type to be pH balanced in such a manner as to neutralize more oral acids. This is significant when attempting to raise the pH (make the environment less acidic) and eliminate these tastes in order to freshen the oral cavity. Instructions for products like TheraBreath’s also include procedures in order to change the pH and methods to better attack the bacteria which are normally very difficult to reach.

For those individuals who may have a slightly more acidic oral environment/saliva, here’s a helpful hint:

Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda on the bristles of your dry toothbrush. Then, place toothgel over the baking soda to cover the bristles – then brush. The baking soda neutralizes more of the oral acids and creates a cleaner taste sensation.

TheraBreath, AktivOxigen, and TheraBrite are the first chlorine dioxide based products to be sold in retail stores. They are based on clinically-proven formulas developed and tested for many years on thousands of patients at the California Breath Clinics by Dr. Harold Katz. (TheraBreath PLUS & PerioTherapy are available only from us on-line or by phone order.)

Many people have tried to copy our products and their formulations, but as hard as they try, they always come up short. The reason: Our products are made with proprietary pharmaceutical-grade chlorine dioxide and specific oxychlor complexes, both in the active and stabilized formats, using technology developed by the leading scientists in this field. Despite what jealous competitors may say, we use chlorine dioxide in our products at concentrations sufficient enough to make us the best-selling, direct to the public brand, both in the U.S. and worldwide. No one comes close.

When GNC (natural heath product retailers) went searching for the BEST oral products for their very selective customers, they chose TheraBreath, TheraBrite, and AktivOxigen from the California Breath Clinics. When Wegmans Supermarkets wanted the finest breath products, they chose TheraBreath, and when Walgreens searched the ClO2 market, they chose TheraBreath as their exclusive professional breath product. When SelfCare Catalog dropped Profresh because of poor sales, they chose AktivOxigen and TheraBrite.

We do not use any alcohol, detergents (sodium lauryl sulfate), saccharin, artificial colors or artificial flavors in any of our formulas. We do not need to use bleach to generate ClO2 (bleach is used in Profresh). And, we don’t need to fool the public by creating strong medicinal or minty masking flavors, because our formulas work!

If you’re looking for definitive scientific proof on which oral product reduces VSC safely and rapidly, just look at these independent tests from June, 2000.

Simply tilt your head back and squeeze out 3-4 drops into each nostril during the day to get to the source of the problem! And, because it’s all natural, there’s no danger in using too much. If you have post nasal drip, allergies, dry mouth, or tonsils, this product, in conjunction with our other clinically-proven oral products, is the best recommended solution.

Simply place the spray bottle into each nostril and dispense 1-2 ‘spritzes’. With the Nasal Sinus Spray, some patients may notice a slight burning – this is normal and is due to the Tea Tree Oil. If you have post nasal drip, allergies, dry mouth, or tonsils, this product, in conjunction with our other clinically-proven oral products is for YOU!

Saliva is a very important part of Oral Health. With regards to the topic at hand, Saliva provides 3 important functions:

1. Provides enzymes to help with digestion of food
2. Provides a method to stabilize the pH (keep the acid levels in check)
3. Provides high levels of oxygen in order to keep oral tissues healthy and fresh.

If you suffer from dry mouth (Xerostomia) symptoms, you naturally have less saliva. In turn, less saliva means less oxygen. If there is less oxygen available in the oral environment you have an anaerobic environment, which is perfect for these sulfur-producing bacteria. In essence, the bacteria are now capable of making high levels of sulfur gases, which in turn make the breath and taste worse.

We are the only National Breath Center that includes in their standard treatment an all natural Breath Mint designed to stimulate saliva flow AND freshen your breath. Containing no sugar, aspartame, or saccharin, this breath lozenge uses its patented zinc/oxygen/xylitol formula to naturally stimulate the salivary glands to produce an oxygen-rich type of saliva, which works extremely well with our Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide oral rinse and oral gel in order to restrict the production of the foul-smelling and tasting sulfide and mercaptan compounds.

It is also true that some tongue formations are also more conducive to dry mouth than others. Generally, the rougher one’s tongue, the more likely they are to have a bad breath problem. This is connected to the belief by some that “bad breath” can be an inherited trait. Truthfully, one cannot inherit the bacteria of bad breath, but one can inherit a specific “shape or geography” of tongue, just as one would inherit a parent’s eye color, hair color, height, and ear shape.

In the graphic on this page, one sees a deep groove going down the middle of the tongue; this is known as a “fissured” tongue and it may lead to a great deal of the anaerobic bacteria breeding at the bottom of this fissure, because Oxygen cannot get to the bottom of the fissure (another reason why tongue scraping without oxidizing products, is a waste of time.)

Some people may have a condition known as “hairy tongue”, which again describes the fibers that make up the tongue (papillae), being slightly longer than the norm. The longer the papillae, the more rough the appearance of the tongue and of course the better to trap the sulfur producing bacteria.

Once the tongue becomes very dry, or if the tongue becomes abused by extra hard scraping or brushing, the outer layer becomes very sensitive. One prevalent condition among older people is “burning tongue syndrome”. It is common among both sexes, but slightly higher among women. That fact has caused some scientists to believe that there is a hormonal component to “burning tongue syndrome”. Many patients who are diabetic, may notice a burning of the tongue, once they become thirsty. It is important, when one has these types of symptoms, to stay away from oral rinses that may burn or make your mouth dry. The resulting pain is indescribably painful according to many of my patients.

The standard recommendation for Burning Tongue Syndrome and Dry Mouth is the following:
(among patients we have treated)

Tonsils and Tonsiloliths:
(Those white-yellow globs that get stuck in your throat).

These bacteria can breed very easily in the back of the throat, and especially the tonsils (if you have them.) One important fact to remember: The bacteria never start off in the throat or tonsils. They only get there because the “bugs” originate on the back of the tongue – which contacts the throat & tonsils EVERY TIME you swallow. When someone has post nasal drip or allergies, it is possible to form little “white globs” – scientifically known as Tonsiloliths. They are a combination of sulfur compounds (produced by the bacteria) and mucous (from post nasal drip). Their smell (if you’ve checked them out) is very STRONG! Do not attempt to pick them out yourself – you’ll cause a lot of bleeding. Many dentists and physicians don’t know what they are – they are not food particles and it is not the sign of infection. Do not run out and have a tonsillectomy – because you will still have bad breath – because the bugs are still on the back of your tongue. (If you no longer have your tonsils, a similar reaction takes place if you have had a history of sore throats – your throat is much rougher).

Here’s what an increasing number of my patients have done to solve this problem: We have recently developed a concentrated tablet, known as “AktivOxigen Tabs“, as an addition to our TheraBreath product line. When added to an 8 oz. bottle of water, the tablet will create a powerful Oxygenating solution which one can use as their mouthwash and Gargle. Patients with tonsils, post nasal drip, or a white coating on their tongue have told me that if they Drink 4-5 capfuls of this solution, even their morning breath disappears! (It’s because the oxygenation attacks the bacteria and their odorous sulfur production on the very back of the tongue, throat and/or tonsils – which cannot be reached through any other method.) You can also make a double strength Solution by adding 2 tablets to the 8 oz. bottle. AktivOxigen Tabs are easy to carry around and the resulting Unflavored solution is also very refreshing!

The reason that taste disorders are related to Bad Breath is due to the sulfur produced by these anaerobic bacteria, particularly on the back (dorsum) of the tongue. Although it was extremely difficult for us to find a direct relationship between sulfide molecules and this area of the tongue in American Medical or Dental textbooks, several Asian Medical texts made reference to Sour, Bitter, and Metallic tastes associated with the rear of the tongue. This fact is very logical, because the bacteria that produce the Sulfur Compounds breed in the back of the tongue which is the area susceptible to sour, bitter, and metallic tastes.

Neurologically, the sense of smell and the sense of taste have two distinct physical centers in the brain, where specific electrical impulses are received. However, they happen to be next door neighbors. There is physical evidence which show that the receptors for these are separate senses often intermingle with each other. This causes some to detect a sense of odor, even though there is none, based on a stimulation in the taste center, and vice versa.

Pharmaceutical companies realized early on that it could be very easy to “fool” the public by creating strong flavors in oral rinses, which would then be “sensed” by the brain as if the user’s breath was fresh.

One must understand that just as seeing and hearing are 2 different senses, and so are smelling and taste. You can have a great minty taste in your mouth (after using Altoids, let’s say), but the odor being sensed by the person next to you at work can be a disagreeable sulfur odor. This is true because the sugar in those products stimulate the bacteria to produce more sulfur compounds.

Some oral rinses are flavored to be “mediciny” with the distinct purpose of creating the sense to the user that this “medicine” flavor is actually doing something. Therabreath Oral Rinses are designed to fight and prevent bad breath, not mask it.

pH and Tastes:
Sour, bitter, metallic tastes are all acidic in nature. Our medicated products are the only ones of their type to be pH balanced in such a manner as to neutralize more oral acids. This is significant when attempting to raise the pH (make the environment less acidic) and eliminate these tastes in order to freshen the oral cavity. Your TheraBreath instructions also include procedures to change the pH and methods to better attack the bacteria which are normally very difficult to reach.

For those individuals who may have a slightly more “acidic” oral environment or saliva, here’s a helpful hint:

Sprinkle a small amount of Baking Soda on the bristles of your dry toothbrush. Then place TheraBreath toothgel over the Baking Soda to cover the bristles – then brush. The Baking Soda neutralizes more of the oral acids and creates a “cleaner” taste sensation.